GREEN BAY, Wis (NBC 26) -- In the last 24 hours Major League Baseball, the WNBA, Major League Soccer and the NBA have halted their respective seasons or canceled games. Tonight, fans are speaking on what the boycott means to them.
The Milwaukee Bucks started a chain reaction across American professional sports on Wednesday when players boycotted their competitions to call for justice and accountability in the officer-involved shooting of Jacob Blake.
"I think it's good. We just need to keep moving forward and think that's all the players want. I don't think they want it to stop and stand still," says John Martin of Green Bay. Martin says he was relived and a bit happy when he heard about several professional sports teams who boycotted games to bring attention to Jacob Blake's death.
Martin adds that he respects the athlete's stance and is optimistic that similar boycotts in MLS, the WNBA and MLB will have Americans thinking about change.
"That's how this society moves forward. Every decade, every century, laws have to be changed as we progress as a society."
But not everyone sees the boycotts in the same light. Lifelong Brewers fan Donald Hansen says he's done with professional baseball following the player's announcement on Wednesday.
"What they did yesterday is just not acceptable to me. I will not, I will just discontinue watching."
Hansen says professional athletes have become to politicalized over the last several years and it's led to him tuning out more sports more regularly.
"I'm retired now but when I was working, I didn't take my personal opinions to work. It's not the place for it."
And while many turned to professional sports for an escape from our daily realities, in this current climate it seems there is no escaping what's happening in our backyards.
"I'm expecting that football is going to disappoint me in the same way, so I'm not even thinking about the Packers," says Hansen.
"I think it shows you that the majority of people understand what's right and what's wrong and that's good. That means I have faith in this country," adds Martin.
